From the giant Christmas tree in the middle of PPG Place’s ice rink to Santa’s House at the Heinz Hall Courtyard, downtown Pittsburgh holds many fun events to celebrate the holiday season. One special event is the Peoples Gas Holiday Market, celebrating its 14th year this holiday season. Over the years, the market has grown into one of the must-see holiday destinations in the city, and has become a place to celebrate cultural diversity during the holiday season.
Although the market was relocated to the Cultural District this year, it continues to offer a space for local and international artisans to showcase their work. The marketplace is filled with decorative chalets for each vendor and their products. Each chalet holds a display of crafted gifts for the holiday season, including ornaments, wooden animals, glasswork, winter accessories and more.
An important aspect of the market is the cultural ties present within many of the stands. Vendors sell items that have been created across the world in places like Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, Nepal and Kenya. Each of these stands allow visitors to catch a glimpse of the creative styles across different cultures, while admiring the handcrafted work of international artisans.
One business’ chalet, Euro Haus, features a collection of European items like jewelry, religious items, nesting dolls and winter gear. The stand’s vendor, Alison Brougher, a resident of Moon Township, travels to Europe every year and imports the various items from several different countries. Brougher first started her stand after years of bringing back European items for her own use as decorations.
“I started traveling to Europe in the 80s. We’d always carry a lot back, and I’d decorate my home with it,” Brougher said. “Then people were like ‘Boy, you should open up a store.’”
Since the market’s inaugural year, Euro Haus has been a part of the holiday celebration. Brougher has seen the market change over the years as it grew from having only around 12 vendors to the size it is now. She notes how the holiday market has developed a greater selection of gifts and representation of other cultures.
“[The market] expanded where they have more vendors, but they have also added a nice variety of vendors,” Brougher said. “They have expanded it to be international and in a multi-state way, with people coming in from out-of-state.”
Another chalet, Cute As A Dumpling, sells felt ornaments in the shape of dumplings from different cultures, including raviolis, samosas and empandas, but their main attraction is the pierogies — influenced by their Polish heritage. The dumplings are given a lifelike personality, each with a friendly face and an accessory. Stephanie Sobczak and her sister Kelly Sobczak from Bridgeville, run the stand and have been part of the holiday market for the past 13 years. They are responsible for designing their dumplings, but the ornaments are made in Nepal.
“We do all the design work, and then we actually travel to Nepal,” Stephanie Sobczak said. “We’ve been working with the family for about 20 years, and the family’s business is a felt workshop. So they basically take our ideas and make them come alive.”
Cute As A Dumpling has maintained its success throughout the years because of their personalized marketing towards the Pittsburgh community. They’re top-selling ornament is a pierogi holding a pickle, inspired by Pittsburgh’s appreciation for both pierogies and pickles. When first designing the pierogi ornaments, the felt workshop in Nepal did not understand why Kelly Sobczak would want pierogies as the chosen design.
“Years ago, she said, ‘You know, I want to start doing some design work, and I have an idea to do a Polish pierogi,’” Stephanie Sobczak said. “Initially, the guy thought she was sort of a little crazy, like ‘Who in the world would want a dumpling on a Christmas tree?’ She said, ‘Trust me, people in my hometown in Pittsburgh, they want pierogies.’”
This Pittsburgh focus is visible through many other vendors at the market. One chalet that executes this idea is the Vessel Glass Studio, a stand selling handblown and fused glassware, including ornaments and holiday decorations. Hannah Walker, a resident of Pleasant Hills, operates the stand alongside its owners Drew and Jeannine Hine. While the stand features ornaments of all shapes and sizes, Walker finds that there’s something special about the Pittsburgh-specific items.
“Because [Drew and Jeannine] are Pittsburgh natives, they’re making things that only Pittsburgh people will understand,” Walker said. “Pittsburgh sometimes can be very overlooked culturally. People assume we don’t have culture, but we do.”
Pittsburgh representation can be seen through the glass studio’s glass-blown pickle and pierogi ornaments, paying homage to the city’s cultural foods. In addition, the stand sells fused glass Christmas trees — colored black and yellow — with yellow, red and blue baubles, to represent the Pittsburgh Steelers logo. Walker has loved seeing people’s reactions to these Pittsburgh-themed items.
“Some people are very touched by seeing these Pittsburgh items,” Walker said. “That makes me happy because it brings me joy to see other people feel seen.”
The importance of Pittsburgh’s diverse culture is evident throughout the market and is a big part of what makes the event special for vendors and visitors alike. The Peoples Gas Holiday Market continues into the winter through Dec. 24 and will continue to create an immersive cultural space to celebrate the holiday season.